WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Wedding Photography has been one of the big niches not just in commercial photography but in photography as a whole. Since weddings has been an important thing in humanity, it doesn’t seem weird to state that wedding photography’s history can be traced back to 1840 to the wedding of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert. Thanks to technological advances, wedding photography has become a must even at the most humble social circles. Today we’re going to speak about some of the most important things you need to know about wedding photography.

Approaches

There are basically two approaches for wedding photography, the “Traditional” and the “Journalistic”. Every professional wedding photographer creates their style by mixing these two approaches. From obviously journalistic, to pure traditional, they all share at least a pinch of one of these and a lot of the other one.

Traditional Wedding Photography is used when representing the wedding in a classically posed image. In the early days of photography this was common but just because the mediums were slow and standing still in front of the camera was the way to go (even smiles were off the table thanks to the stress they produce to keep them for long periods of time). Photojournalism has been kicking inside wedding photography since some years now, and perhaps it rocketed away when digital photography appeared. This wedding photography approach provides candid and natural images of the preparation, the reception and the party.

Flying Solo Is Not the Way to Go

Weddings are massive events where a lot of things happen at once. Many loved ones and important guests gathered in a single place interacting all together. From children to great-grandparents, everything is a sweet mayhem taking place for a bunch of scarce hours. Trying to capture the whole mood, story and guests all by oneself, is for me a selfish and reckless thing to do. Having a passionate crew working with us with a “team mindset” (without egos affecting one’s role on the event) is the best way to capture everything our clients expect us to photograph.

Gear Does Matter

Even though many disciplines of photography doesn’t require heavy investments on the greatest gear of all, Wedding Photography (and also Sports Photography) require reliable gear that won’t get us in trouble by the time of working. Fast lenses, resistant and trusty camera bodies, and portable lighting set-ups are important to have while shooting a wedding, because everything could happen, from difficult light situations, to a hardware problem, and we need to be prepared for those troubles.

Consistent Portfolio will get you some serious sells

Market is getting bigger and bigger, and the demand for high quality and innovative services is large. What can really make you trigger the buying decision of clients among everybody else? Well, portfolio could be a big part of that solution. If you are able to build up a solid, and consistent portfolio to showcase to your clients, you’ll distinguish yourself from the crowd, because you’re unique style will be a trademark. Clients are looking for concepts and unique services, and your Portfolio will be your most valuable asset in the hard task of proving that your service is the one they need.

Wedding Timelines Are Your Friends

Wedding Timelines are a tool that is more familiar for wedding planners than wedding photographers. Nevertheless, it is an extremely helpful practice. Wedding Timelines are a simple breakthrough of all the events that build up the big day. From early preparations to the final wrap-up at the end of the after party. The involvement of wedding photography may vary at each of the events of the wedding, and some might be more crucial than others.

Wear Comfortable Clothes

Our job as wedding photographers will be highly demanding in terms of mobility. Comfortable (but styled) clothes will make your work easier. You can’t go wrong with black, so that’s a starting point. Many wedding photographers wisely working as crews or teams, work with a uniform. Casual as it gets, since it’s standardized, it will always feel professional.

Create a Concept by Hearing Your Clients

Planning is always important, for almost everything. Wedding photography must not be left alone to the tricky hands of serendipity and improvisation. Listen to your clients and create a concept that will be unique. Let your clients get involved in the concept stage, and you’ll both easily create unique images that will help you and your business be different from anything else on the market.

Wedding Photography can be a satisfying way of making a sustainable career in photography. All you need is passion, practice, patience, and a “team work” philosophy.